Description

Respectable Roughnecks: The True Story of a Forgotten Champion by Brendon G. Steenbergen

The 1960 Missouri Tigers football team entered the season with low expectations. But over the course of their incredible season, they set or broke nearly every record in school history en route to a controversial national championship run. Not only is this true story a record of on the field football accomplishments, but it also follows the story of Norris Stevenson and Mel West, the first two African-American players to ever play at Missouri.
In the midst of all of this was a massive controversy between Missouri and their archrival Kansas Jayhawks who bent and broke rules in an effort to derail the Tigers' perfect season. This story details the gridiron struggles, the Civil Rights era battles, and the innerworkings of NCAA rulemaking. At the end of Missouri's amazing season, they encountered the Heisman Trophy winning Joe Bellino's Navy squad in the Orange Bowl, backed by newly elected John F. Kennedy, cheering from the stands.
Respectable Roughnecks captures the inspiring personal determination of Coach Dan Devine, his leadership and demand of excellence from his players and coaches, pushing and driving his team as they got closer and closer and the games got bigger and bigger.